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William D. O'Connor to Walt Whitman, 23 May 1883

About This Item

  • Title: William D. O'Connor to Walt Whitman, 23 May 1883
  • Date: May 23, 1883
  • Creator(s): William D. O'Connor
  • Whitman Archive ID: nyp.00568
  • Source: The Oscar Lion Papers, 1914–1955, New York Public Library, New York, N.Y. Transcribed from digital images or a microfilm reproduction of the original item. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the correspondence, see our statement of editorial policy.
  • Contributors to digital file: Jeannette Schollaert Nicole Gray
  • Cite this page: O'Connor, William D.. "William D. O'Connor to Walt Whitman, 23 May 1883." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 11 May 2025. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: nyp.00568.xml (TEI)
 nyp_nhg.00002_large.jpg Washington, D.C. May 23, 1883. Dear Walt:

A couple of hours ago I got the copy of Dr. Bucke's book. I judge by a cursory and interrupted looking through, that it is tip-top.

I hope it is to be bound, for I don't like paper covers. I noticed three typographical errors, which  nyp_nhg.00003_large.jpg ought to be corrected. One on page 41, line 4, "brilliant monogram" for "monograph." Another on page 74 (very bad) where my sturdy "I vaunt it and I stand by it," is spoiled by being rendered "I vaunt it and I stand by." On page 145, there is "Thayer, Eldridge" instead of "Thayer & Eldridge."

Success to the book!

 nyp_nhg.00004_large.jpg

I will write to you later. I am much stricken. . . Since Jeannie's death, I have been very ill, and I am still ill and very feeble and broken down.

Goodbye, Always affectionately W.D.O'C Walt Whitman  nyp_nhg.00005_large.jpg

Correspondent:
William Douglas O'Connor (1832–1889) was the author of the grand and grandiloquent Whitman pamphlet The Good Gray Poet: A Vindication, published in 1866. For more on Whitman's relationship with O'Connor, see Deshae E. Lott, "O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998).

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